


All We Need Is Just a Little Patience

by Morlemia_R



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Handholding and listening to music play an important role, Meet-Cute, More like meet-weird, Phone Calls & Telephones, Sort Of, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, Strangers to Friends to maybe Lovers, Texting, Traffic Jams serving as a Matchmaker, the author does not know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22839487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morlemia_R/pseuds/Morlemia_R
Summary: Rey, 3:30, PM: so. This traffic sucks huhBen, 3:30, PM: um. Yeah. why are you talking to me now?Rey, 3:31, PM: bored. And curious.Ben, 3:32, PM: I’m deeply flattered
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 31
Kudos: 162





	All We Need Is Just a Little Patience

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the absolutely perfect Guns N' Roses song; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkoeqtKUUe4  
> It's a reference to what is discussed in this fic, and also the pain of having to be patient while stuck in a traffic jam. Also both my fanfictions are now named after songs. Oh Well.
> 
> This idea was based on a post I saw where someone was stuck in traffic behind a car with a for sale sign and texted the number saying, 'what up, this traffic sucks'. I did not mean for it to become a six-thousand word story, but here we are.
> 
> It is by no means my best work, but it would not get out of my head.  
> I sincerely hope someone enjoys it.

_Of course. Of fucking course. Of course this is how this goes._ Ben scowled at the line of cars strung out in front of him and flexed his hands on the steering wheel. He hated a lot of things, but traffic jams were definitely up there. Or rather, any situation he couldn’t escape was automatically on his list of hated things.

It did sort of feel like the perfect end to a perfect day, though.

A quick glance at his car clock reminded him it was hardly the end of the day.

Ben sighed, slamming his head back into the seat and switching on the radio, trying to figure out why there was such a standstill at two in the afternoon. He caught the tail-end of something about an accident, but when it switched over to some seventies song his mother played too much growing up, he switched it off again.

He wondered if it was pathetic that he wanted to call her. Wanted to hear her congratulate him, or maybe just hear her voice. Maybe she’d invite him over-

 _Jesus._ He gripped the steering wheel again to anchor himself. This was not some Disney movie, and him quitting his job at the rival company of his mom’s didn’t erase five years of radio silence.

Still. It would have been nice to have _someone_ to call and tell. But the only people he’d really even vaguely been friends with all worked at First Order, and it would be sort of awkward to call up Hux and say, _‘Hey, you know that screaming match you heard in Snoke’s office? Yeah, I totally called him a motherfucker, and he’s probably going to promote you to my position, so like, congrats, but I hate First Order and everything it stands for now, so…’_

Then again, maybe that _would_ be enjoyable. And maybe Hux would just be happy to have Ben out of the way and simply tell him good job and hang up.

 _Fuck that._ He’d left that place for a reason, and even if his passive-aggressive relationship with his co-workers had kept him on his toes, he didn’t really want to relive it. Nor did he want to get his poor mother’s hopes up if the only good deed he could handle that month was quitting. Better to just go home and drink a bottle of beer. Alone. 

_Loser._

Ben felt his adrenaline kicking back into gear, and when the cars beside him started moving forward half an inch, Ben quickly swerved into the right lane. They stopped moving and he had to slam on the brakes so hard, he was sure it wasn’t good for the car. 

“GODDAMMIT.” He screamed, punching the ceiling. Also probably not good for the car. With a quick sweep of his eyes, he tried to figure out if there was an exit coming up or _something,_ and then he finally registered the car he had in front of him now.

It was a Ford Falcon. White in color, or at least, it _used_ to be white, but now it had so much peeled paint and dirt it was closer to a beige. It was a 1966 model. With a single bumper-sticker that said KESSEL RUN: 12. Ben’s jaw dropped open, just like a cartoon character, and then he did something he hadn’t done in ages;

He laughed. It was a bit of a crazed laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. Because how was it in five years he had never once run into Them, and then, the very day he quit his job and even _thought_ the words, _okay, you were right mom and dad,_ he got stuck behind his dad’s junker of a car in traffic? Ben ran a hand over his face. “Fuck.” And then he squinted. “The fuck?”

There was a for sale sign in the back window, with a phone number scrawled on it. His dad was selling The Falcon? _Why would..._ some strange, childish fear overtook him as he remembered the words Han had uttered to his uncle Lando so many times; _“I’ll give that car up when I’m dead.”_

But no. Leia had agreed to give Ben space, but his mother would never give him _that_ much space. She would tell him if his own fucking father had kicked the bucket. And, as it was, that same childish side of Ben that worried he was gone sincerely believed that his father would have started haunting him if he were gone.

It still begged the question, though, of why he was selling it. Ben tried not to dwell on it, tried to look anywhere than at the car where his father currently sat, less than a hundred feet away. Ben had never been very good at not dwelling, though, and in seconds, the impulsive drive that had caused him to quit his job had him punching the number into his phone and texting it. It was a different one than the one he previously had his dad under, but it wasn’t unreasonable that he changed phones in five years. He wrote the words out and hit send before he could think about it.

It wasn’t hard. Ben was good at doing things without thinking about it.

-

**Unknown, 2:36, PM:** Why in the hell are you selling The Falcon?

Rey stared at the strange message on her phone for a solid five minutes exactly; she knew, because her phone kept turning off, showing the time, and then she’d have to log back in and stare until it fell asleep again.

She figured it had to be one of Han’s old buddies, probably they recognized The Falcon or something and decided to text and ask. But then again, if it _was_ one of Han’s buddies, they would have realized this wasn’t Han’s number. She furrowed her brow again and glanced up at the road. It felt wrong, somehow, to be on her phone while behind the wheel, but she’d been sitting in the same spot on the highway for the past fifteen minutes, and it didn’t look like that was going to change anytime soon. She wasn’t even close enough to the problem to see why she was stalled out. So she unbuckled, settled in a little bit more, and changed the tape in the cassette. Because yes, The Falcon still only possessed the radio or a cassette player. The car was older than Rey herself.

AC/DC began blaring, and she dialed it down a bit; she still wasn’t quite sure who all the eighties rock tapes had belonged to. Han and Leia had been a lot more mellow in the eighties, preferring pop or indie music, and Luke only ever listened to songs from the sixties.

Her phone buzzed again and she opened it at once, expecting it to be the same unknown number, but it was Leia.

**Leia, 2:40, PM:** There was an accident on the interstate, so you might want to take a back road.

**Me, 2:40, PM:** too late alrdy on it

I’ll probably b late, was just about to text Han

Rey banged her head a couple of times to the beat of the music, wondering how much of a lunatic she looked like to the other drivers and then deciding she didn’t give two shits.

**Leia, 2:43, PM:** that’s alright, I’ll tell him.

Now stop texting and driving.

**Me, 2:44, PM:** I’m in traffic, but Ill bet good money youre texting under the table of a meeting

Which is worse, I think

**Leia, 2:45, PM:** I’m docking your pay, not for being late but for talking back to your elders.

**Me, 2:45, PM:** XD

It still made Rey grin like an idiot whenever Leia did things like that; checked in, gave her warnings, even when she was lovingly giving her the middle finger. It would probably feel suffocating, she realized, to most kids. Rey flourished with it. She was her own person, she always would be, but having a mentor like Leia, and a boss like Han that she didn’t want to punch and who didn’t try to punch her, was a truly enjoyable change.

With that thought and a new streak of boredom, she opened up the text from the unknown number. A quick glance at the road again- yep, same billboard for air conditioning, same mile-marker beside her- she typed out a quick reply.

**Me, 2:47, PM** : Who is this?

All in all, not the most eloquent statement to have come up with after twenty minutes, but it would have to suffice.

-

_What the fuck?_ Ben scowled at his phone. After five years of barely any communication, did his dad really decide the best way to open it up again was with a ‘new phone, who dis’ prank? He growled and jabbed his thumbs at the keys, cursing when he misspelled and then auto-corrected ‘fuck’ to ‘duck’. This was a stupid idea.

**Me, 2:48, PM** : What the fuck I know its been awhile but have you seriously forgotten you have a fucking son?!

He ran a hand through his hair and grit his teeth, waiting. He was probably gripping his phone too hard. This time, it didn’t take long to get a reply.

**Dad, 2:53, PM:** ohmygod Ben??????

Ben growled and debated just throwing the phone across the car, but some unknown force stopped him. _(Unknown forces guide us all, Ben, if you’d just learn to listen..._ his uncle used to lecture.) For one thing, this person did NOT write like his dad. His suspicions turned out to be correct.

**Dad, 2:54, PM:** this isn’t Han.

That was pretty damn obvious now. He ran through his mind of who else could be driving; Luke didn’t own a cellphone, his mom would have better punctuation, Chewie didn’t know how to text and Uncle Lando claimed he only sexted, never texted. (A horrifying conversation to have.) It could be someone random, maybe Han already sold the car to a third party and now they were selling it? Wouldn’t make sense for them to know who _he_ was, then. He stared at the car, squinting through their rear window, but he couldn’t see anything against the blinding, late afternoon sun. He eloquently wrote out, in true Ben Solo fashion, _then who the fuck IS this?_

-

Rey laughed out loud at the text. Yep. That checked out. Maybe Ben Solo had been absent the entire time she knew the Skywalker-Organa-Solo’s, but she’d heard _plenty_ of stories, some loving, some exasperated, but all of them painted the same picture; Ben Solo was not good with words. 

It was odd to Rey. The first time she heard about Han and Leia’s estranged son, who worked for their competition, she had definitely hated his guts. He had everything she wished she had, and he threw it away in one of those very White-Privileged-Male-Pity-Parties. He was definitely a dick, she’d decided. However, as the years passed and Luke admitted that _maybe_ he had been a little too gruff with Ben, and Leia confessed that _maybe_ she had missed more of his birthdays than she had attended, and Han drunkenly informed her that he _maybe_ hadn’t understood all of Ben’s mental illnesses and simply brushed them off as ‘kids being kids’...well, Rey still didn’t like him, but more in an interested, fascinated way. She enjoyed studying people. Finn said it was creepy, but it was a part of her; growing up in foster care, you had to learn to make quick judgments about people, or you might end up in deep shit. And she had wondered, if the elusive dickhead that was Ben Solo would ever show up again, so she could finally say, _hey, I totally know what it’s like growing up in a weird family even though I didn’t actually grow up in mine, it’s just that your grandpa and my grandpa knew each other and they both sucked, so like, I get that bad sign to be born under._ Apparently, unseen forces had decided _yeah, you will meet him, and it’ll be weird._

She cackled again and turned up the music.

**Me, 3:00, PM:** i’m rey. I work with your dad in his garage

And i take yoga from your uncle with your mom

**Ben Solo, 3:01, PM:** I know who you are.

Rey balked.

**Me, 3:02, PM:** how????? You haven’t been home in five years

**Ben Solo, 3:02, PM:** I could ask how you know about me for the same reason

**Me, 3:03, PM:** duh i know bcse im around ur parents everyday. u definitely arent.

u know they talk about you all the time.

It took longer for him to respond to that one.

**Ben Solo, 3:06, PM:** how fucking old are you. You write like a teenager.

**Me, 3:07, PM:** how fucking old are YOU??? You have the MANNERS of a teenager and thats worse

You still havent answered my question

**Ben Solo, 3:08, PM:** no shit sherlock

**Me, 3:09, PM:** hahaha asshole

-

Ben wondered what he had gotten himself into. Not an unusual feeling. Still, this time it was a bit different.

Rey. Yeah, he knew Rey. Rey Jaksun, or rather, Rey Palpatine, as he knew her. He’d seen the pictures on his parents Facebook when she attended his dad’s sixty-second birthday party, and then he most definitely had NOT stalked her Instagram and Facebook and Tumblr page. That had been years ago, though, and he had forced himself to quit thinking of the kid his parents replaced him with. That was, until his boss’ boss had called him into his office one day and casually mentioned that his granddaughter was practically living with his folks. And would he maybe mind reaching out to his family and convincing Rey to see him? And then Sheev did that creepy-smile thing that reminded him of Pennywise the clown.

Ben still didn’t know if it was fear of talking to his parents, or some weird desire to protect the smiley girl with too-many pictures of an orange and white corgi on her instagram, but he refused. Suffice to say, Sheev had _not_ been happy, and then Snoke had called him into his office later to announce they were demoting him, Ben lost his temper, called him a motherfucker, punched him…

And now he was sitting in traffic behind the girl that, sort of inadvertently, ruined everything.

_YOU ruined everything. Stop giving away credit. You did it all yourself._

If he was still going to therapy with Maz, he thought she’d be proud of him for not blaming someone else. He looked back at his phone.

 **Rey, 3:15, PM:** how did u get my number?

Before he could reply-

**Rey, 3:16, PM:** oh wait holy shit r u the douche in the porsche behind me??? I cant see u but that feels like the car youd drive.

Ben scowled, but he was sort of trying to fight a smile.

**Me, 3:17, PM:** am I a douche BECAUSE I’m driving a Porsche or am I making the Porsche douchey by driving it?

**Rey, 3:18, PM:** too philosophical a question for my taste

Ben smirked. Just a little. But it wasn’t a smile. Definitely not.

**Rey, 3:20, PM:** why r u talking to me? I thought u cut yourself off from your family anyway

The smirk, or the smile, or whatever the hell it was, slipped right off Ben’s face.

**Me, 3:21, PM:** you’re right. Nevermind. Have a nice day.

Ben set his phone aside and clicked on the radio, but it was all ads. He looked around, trying to distract himself, while running a hand through his hair again, but it was hard not to focus on the car right in front of him. On the outline of the person inside the car. He growled. His phone vibrated. He ignored it.

For point two seconds.

**Rey, 3:30, PM:** so. This traffic sucks huh

**Me, 3:30, PM:** um. Yeah. why are you talking to me now?

**Rey, 3:31, PM:** bored. And curious.

**Me, 3:32, PM:** I’m deeply flattered

What a stupid fucking thing to write.

**Rey, 3:33, PM:** you should be. I’m a delight to talk to. Thats a fucking lie hahahaha

**Me, 3:34, PM:** you seem nice enough

What another stupid fucking thing to write.

**Rey, 3:35, PM:** I’m deeply flattered

Ben did smile then.

**Rey, 3:36, PM:** hey i’ll tell you why the carz for sale if u tell me how u know me.

**Me, 3:37, PM:** okay.

**Rey, 3:38, PM:** han wanted to give it to me but i felt guilty just accepting it without paying and then we got into an argument about whether it was worth anything or if anyone else would want it so i said i’d try to sell if, and if no one took it, I would, and if someone DID offer something id pay him that.

He blinked deliberately and glanced up at the car in front of him, furrowing his brow. His brow was always in a state of semi-furrow, so it didn’t take much. He wasn’t even mad his dad wanted to give the hunk of junk to someone outside the family; he was mad she wouldn’t just _take_ the hunk of junk.

**Me, 3:40, PM:** that is ludicrously complicated and stupid.

If he wants to give it to you he’ll never take your money

Also that’s sort of false advertising if you don’t plan on letting anyone actually buy the car

**Rey, 3:42, PM:** false advertising says the guy who’s been working as PR for the devil incarnate for the last five years

And yeah i know he wont but i dont like accepting gifts so there.

Your turn.

Hm. His turn. Well, he could either admit he was jealous of her and had been secretly following her social media posts, or he could bring up the grandfather she clearly didn’t like, considering she'd apparently never returned his calls. According to Sheev, anyway.

**Me, 3:45, PM:** my old boss works for Sheev

-

Rey almost spit out her cold coffee. First because right, yeah, duh, First Order was a subcatagory of Empire, and Sheev somehow still managed to run it despite being ninety-eight and senile. She couldn’t wait until he died, and she didn’t care if that was a cruel thing to say about one’s own pop-pops. And _then_ she almost spit out her coffee because... _old boss. My old boss. OLD BOSS._ Was he just being literal? Sheev and Snoke were definitely old, but…

Leia would probably cry. Hell, _Han_ would probably cry. Even if Ben never came back to see them, she knew it would be a huge weight off their shoulders to know he wasn’t working there anymore. And it made her happy, for some reason, to think about it; to know the goofy kid with too big of ears, practicing calligraphy in the photo Leia kept in the living room, was okay. That he’d gotten out.

**Me, 3:48, PM:** OLD boss? Ben did you quit?!

-

He was so terrified by how she’d react to the whole grandpa thing, he hadn’t noticed the slip-up at first. It was ridiculous he wrote it at all, he’d only been an ex-employee for...he glanced at the clock...an hour and a half.

**Me, 3:49, PM:** Not like it matters to anyone.

-

Rey scowled at the screen. She knew that feeling.

Fuck. That. Maybe Ben Solo was a bit of an asshat, but Leia and Han had given her a chance when she was a volatile eighteen-year-old trying to break into their car.

She pressed the little dial icon.

-

It sounded like he was fishing for pity, or worse, compassion. He wished he could delete it, or maybe he could just throw his phone out the window. The cars crept forward by an inch, and then his phone rang. He jumped.

It was her. He picked up out of sheer shock.

“Hello?” He said.

“It most bloody well _does_ matter!” She shouted. He hadn’t expected the English accent.

“You have an accent.”

“Don’t change the subject. And yeah, I grew up in London.”

“How did you end up here?”

“That’s a long story…” he heard her sigh. “And you’re changing the subject again.”

Ben swallowed and gripped the steering wheel with one hand. “Yeah. I quit.”

There was a long _whoosh_ noise, not quite a sigh again, almost like...like relief? “Ben, that’s...congratulations.”

“Why do you care?” He snapped, because he couldn’t just be happy about hearing her say his name, or thank her for the way she was being so nice when she had no fucking reason to be, or for telling him ‘congrats’ when he’d so desperately been needing it.

“Um, while you were off with the bastards of the galaxy, I weaseled my way into your family, and what affects them affects me, and I know they’ve worried about you.” Ben opened his mouth to snap out something rude, but she quietly added, “and you’re a good person and I wouldn’t want to see you stay mixed up with people like them.”

He almost fell out of his seat, which was impressive, considering he was buckled in and had nowhere to fall to. “How the hell do you know I’m a good person?” It was supposed to sound mad. It didn’t. It sounded whiny. The way a teenager might shout, _you don’t know me!_ At their parents before slamming a door. Ben would know. Been there, done that.

“I’m good at reading people. Besides, Leia wouldn’t raise a total douche. And, y’know, every story has two sides. Except the fucking nazis.”

Ben snorted. He couldn’t help it. “Yeah, that’s true,” They sat in amicable silence for a minute, until Ben picked up a soft noise on her end of the call. “Hey are you...are you listening to my tapes?”

“Ohmygod, these are yours? I kept trying to imagine one of your parents enjoying Def Leppard and couldn’t see it…” she laughed.

“You have a nice laugh.” It was not a normal thing to say, and Ben hit his head on the steering wheel.

“Oh. Thanks. Weirdo,” she tagged on, but it was good-natured and she laughed again.

“I did quit.”

“That’s really good, Ben.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, you should have done it a long time ago, but better late than never.” There was a bit of a pause. “Anyway, I didn’t want you to think no one cared. Attitudes like that keep people in toxic situations.”

He tightened his grip on the wheel. “Did...did that happen to you?”

“In a way.” He felt like he could _hear_ her shrugging. “I mean, I did meet your father when he caught me trying to hotwire the Falcon.”

“Jesus, for real?” He hadn’t said ‘for real’ since he was twelve.

“Yeah, unfortunately, yeah,”

“Sorry I missed that.”

“Would you have been on my side or Han’s?”

“Oh, your side, definitely,” he widened his eyes. “I mean-”

“That’s nice.”

The cars inched forward just a bit more.

“This is so fucking boring,” Rey moaned. Ben chuckled.

“Yeah. I hate traffic. Makes me claustrophobic.”

“Me too.” He heard her shuffle a bit, and then the music switched to Guns N’ Roses. “Let’s use this time though. Tell me about you.”

“Um, what?”

“I know your family like the back of my hand. I don’t know you. Tell me about you.”

“Did you want a PowerPoint to go with it?”

 _“Beeennn,_ c’mon, I’m bored, my only friends are working and it’ll be fun. Look, we’ll go back and forth stating facts about ourselves. Fair?”

Ben did _not_ want to do that for himself, but he did want to hear Rey’s. “Fair.” He grumbled.

“Not that I’m only talking to you because my friends are busy,” She hastily added.

“Didn’t even think that, but I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

“Well. Shit. I’ll go first.” She cleared her throat. “I grew up in the foster system.”

“Wow. You set the bar kinda high,”

“Yeah.”

“So did you-”

“You can’t ask follow up questions.”

“Why are you getting to make all the rules for this?” Ben asked, glancing in his rear-view and then up at the billboards. 

“Because I’m pulling all the weight in this conversation. Step up and maybe you can, too.”

Ben grit his teeth. “When I was a teen I thought my parents hated me.”

There was a soft sigh. “Ben, they-”

“No follow up questions!”

“It’s not a question. I was just going to say they definitely didn’t.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I know that now.” And he did know that. It was a comforting balm to his cold little heart. 

“My favorite color is green.”

“My favorite color is black.”

“Typical.” She snorted. “I’m studying to be an environmental engineer. To try to preserve all the green that’s _in_ the world,”

Ben just stared at The Falcon for a minute, eyes glazed. “That’s actually really fucking beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“I have no idea what I’m going to do now that I quit.”

“You could teach yoga with Luke.”

Ben scoffed. “If you’d seen me, you’d know that’s ridiculous,”

“I’ve seen pictures. I’ll bet you’re more flexible than you let on.”

“Are you propositioning me?” He said, before he could think better of it. 

“No follow up questions!” She sang. Ben laughed.

-

His laugh was nice. Surprisingly gentle, with how deep the rest of his voice was. Rey settled a bit more into the seat and slammed her hand onto the Falcon’s dashboard, trying to get the air-conditioning to come back on. She was a sweaty, disgusting mess at that point.

“Air-conditioning still on the fritz?” He asked in her ear. She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.

“Yeah, one of my many things I’ve been trying to fix. And I swear I _did_ fix it, but then Poe borrowed it one day and I fucking swear he broke it, even though he claims he touched nothing-” she scowled at the memory. Over the line, she thought she heard him snort, or scoff, or possibly chuckle. 

“Poe Dameron is a menace.”

“I forgot you know him.”

“Yeah. Went to high school together.”

“My best friend is dating him.” She didn’t know why he needed that information. It just felt like something nice to share; she liked telling people about good things happening to her friends. “It’s the only reason I let him anywhere near the Falcon.”

“Hmm. My favorite food is Thai.” He said, apparently thinking her announcement was part of their little getting-to-know-you game. Rey bit her lip, debating whether or not to say it. It was oddly nice, talking to Ben. Easier than she expected. And saying what she wanted to say might ruin it.

She said it anyway. Typical Rey.

“When I first heard about you, I kinda...hated you.” She closed her eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” he replied easily.

“You hated me?”

“Little bit.” Rey laughed. It should _not_ make her happy to hear that. “I don’t anymore.” He added. She stopped laughing.

“I don’t hate you either.”

“Wow?”

“It’s just, you know, my parents died in a car accident and I never got to have a family, and here it seemed like you had this perfect one, something I wanted…” she trailed off.

“Well, _I_ felt like you were getting to have the relationship I’d always tried for with my parents that they would never give me.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

Rey put the parking brake on and kicked one foot onto the dashboard. “So we were both jealous of the other for the same thing? Jesus, Maz is going to have a fucking field day with this.”

“Maz? As in Maz Kanata?”

“Yeah, she’s my therapist.” Rey knew it made some people freeze up, the way she just said things like that. The way she just came right out and would say, _yeah, I have mental issues,_ with one hundred percent sincerity, and then in the next minute, refuse to even reveal what her favorite drink was because it was too personal.

Ben did not seem phased. Actually, he burst into a sort of crazed cackle. “You know that saying for when two men sleep with the same woman, or whatever? Eskimo brothers?”

“Sort of a sexist and racist example, but I’ll allow you to finish.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, and the sound vibrated through the speaker. “Well, they need to make a word for when you share a therapist. I used to go to Maz, in my early twenties.”

“She’s amazing. You should come back.”

“Are you saying I need help?” It wasn’t angry, his tone. It was amused.

“Yeah, I am Solo. Everyone needs help.” She heard him swallow. She wondered if he looked the same as he did in his most recent photo online. “Who’s turn is it?”

“I feel alone.” He said, all in a rush. “It’s part of why I didn’t quit until now. And you’re right, I should have done it sooner.”

Rey tried to subtly look in the rear-view mirror, as if she’d be able to see him. She could sense his unease. So she just went with what came to her.

“I feel that way a lot, too.” It was embarrassing. Shameful. She felt _bad_ for even thinking about it, when her life was ten thousand times better than it used to be. But he was being vulnerable and shit, and Maz said it was good for her to work on that.

Maz probably didn’t mean with a technical stranger during traffic, though.

“You’re not alone,” he said, with a certain amount of aggression to his voice, as if he just said it strong enough she would believe him. Rey smiled against the device and rested her head on the window.

“Neither are you.”

The cars moved forward a whole ten feet. Rey took off the parking brake and inchedup. The tape flipped over to the song _Patience_ and she heard Ben exhale shakilly.

“I love this song.”

“Hey, me too,”

“Could you maybe-”

She turned it up and put the phone on speaker. Outside, the sun was making its way slowly across the sky, and the cars were moving a little more steadily. Rey let the silence prevail, or rather, let the music run its course. She felt a little teary. That was no surprise. She was no weakling, she had trained herself to keep her tears inside growing up. But since seeing Maz, befriending Finn, and being accepted into her weird little family, she had learned she was actually quite the crier when she let herself. And that was okay.

“It isn’t too late,” Rey said, quietly, as if it was wrong to interrupt the song. She wasn’t even really sure why she said it, or if it would mean anything to him. The noise he made told her it did; as a matter of fact, she knew that noise. He was teary.

“Thanks.”

Rey smiled very slowly, and something warm bloomed in her chest.

-

Ben wiped his eyes on his sleeve like a two-year-old and squinted at the traffic to try to get his mind focused. Rey seemed to be doing the same thing, or maybe she was just trying to cheer him up.

“I’m twenty three.” She said suddenly.

“Huh?”

“You asked my age. I’m twenty three. But, the point is, I think I’ll be twenty-four by the time we get out of this jam.”

His laugh was watery. “Just be patient.”

“I’ve been patient plenty in my life already, thank you,” she replied. “You know, you have a nice laugh too.”

“Oh. Thanks. Weirdo,” he quoted back at her and she positively cackled. Ben studied the landscape around them, and saw an exit was coming up, and on that exit sign was a Denny’s. He swallowed down the tears and the anxiety and plunged headfirst. “Are you hungry?”

“Always.”

“Do you want to get off on exit 38B and get pancakes? My treat.”

He thought there would be at least a pause, maybe a second, for him to panic, but no. Rey immediately replied, loud enough that it hurt his ear a little, “Fuck yeah!” Her turn signal flipped on right after. Ben switched his on as well and followed that old, well-loved Ford Falcon onto the exit ramp and down to the street, turning left at the light and right into the mostly empty Denny’s parking lot. He turned off the engine and breathed out shakily.

“You can do this, just don’t be a fucking freak…” he whispered softly to himself.

“Was that your idea of a self-pep talk?” Rey asked, right in his ear, and he jumped. Right. They hadn’t hung up.

“Could you pretend you didn’t hear that? Or I’m not getting out of this car.”

“I’m a sweaty gross mess and _I_ got out of my car, c’mon,” he jumped again when there was a gentle tapping on his window. 

There she was. In the flesh. It was weird, after seeing photos of her and then hearing her voice for an hour. Her hair was in three odd little buns, and she was clad in a clean white tank top and ripped blue overalls, a big smile on her face, freckles dotting her nose. Ben kept the phone to his ear as he stepped outside and stood, looking down at her.

“Hi.”

Rey frowned. Oh god, had he done something wrong already-

“You’re tall.”

“Maybe you’re short.”

“I’m five seven!”

Ben shrugged and spoke into the phone. “Rey, there’s a midget in front of me claiming five seven-”

“Ben, hold my beer,” Rey said into the phone, then hung up, shoved said phone in her pocket, and took a running leap at him. Ben barely had time to grip his phone in one hand and reach out to grasp her with the other, and then she was hugging him like a koala, boring her gaze down into his.

“Now who’s tall!”

“Uh, still me, I’m _holding_ you.” How he managed to form a full sentence when a rey of sunshine was in his arms, he had no idea. He couldn’t stop his grin. “Whatcha doing up there?”

“Proving a point, and, if anyone looks like they need a hug, it’s you,” she hugged him quickly, just a tight squeeze, and then slid down. “I didn’t just sexually harass you by jumping on you, did I?” She looked genuinely concerned, which was nice. Ben shook his head.

“No.”

“Good.” Rey breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled again, hooking her head in the direction of the Denny’s. “Shall we?”

Ben nodded, hesitating for only a moment, and then lifting his hand for her to take. It was silly, she’d literally just _climbed him,_ but it felt more personal to offer his hand. Rey took it. “This is awesome, I’m gonna eat pancakes and interrogate you about all your life choices,” she sang, leading him towards the glass doors.

“What makes you think _you’ll_ be the one interrogating?”

“Please. Ben. You couldn’t interrogate to save your life.”

“Why does _anyone_ have to be interrogated?” Ben stopped, waiting right beside the entrance. 

“Huh. Fair point.” Her hand felt good in his. He squeezed and she looked at it. Ben, in turn, looked away, up to the distant interstate that was still heavily congested.

“Hey, do you know what was up with all the traffic anyway?” Rey nodded, hair-buns bouncing.

“Leia told me. Accident. No one was hurt, somehow, but one of those cars towing a bunch of cars like, slid, and they’re having to clean up _all_ the cars now? Yeah. Anyway, yeah, accident.”

Ben felt like an idiot, but he turned to Rey fully again, grinned, and said it anyway. “I’m not so sure it _was_ an accident. I mean, maybe we were meant to meet like this.”

Rey didn’t seem to mind how stupid it was. She grinned right back, and her smile was like the sun. “Unforeseen forces indeed.” She quoted, voice pitched low to sound like his uncle as her eyes danced. “Now can we go in, or do I have to keep waiting and starve?”

It was strange and nice, and Ben let himself laugh, running his free hand through his hair while his other hand squeezed Rey’s again.

“No. No more waiting.”

_Said woman, take it slow, it’ll work itself out fine._

_All we need is just a little patience._

_Said sugar, make it slow and we’ll come together fine._

_All we need is just a little patience._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty sure I'm one of only twelve people in the SW fandom who actually loved TROS. If you are one of the other twelve people and want someone to talk at about it, come visit me on Tumblr: https://morlemia.tumblr.com/  
> Or on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo5h5M0rZXp5TN6fLu4tc4g  
> I've been thinking a lot recently about Rey and Ben. See, I never shipped reylo until TROS, and even now, I still don't ship Kylo and Rey, so technically it's not reylo...what I'm saying is, I'd like to suggest the ship-name Bey for Ben and Rey. Or the obvious choice: Ren.  
> I'll see myself out.
> 
> -Morlemia


End file.
